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The citrus-colorerd 2015 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Brand offers a rich and intense, but precise and fresh, truly exciting nose. Tight and intense, this is a full-bodied, pure and mineral Gewurz with good freshness, lemon piquancy and fine tannin structure. It is rich and lush but also stunningly pure, finessed and full of tension—thanks to remarkable acidity for Gewurz from this spectacular vintage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPVivid dark yellow. Ripe apricot and guava aromas and flavors, complemented by cinnamon and nutmeg. Enters bright and juicy, then becomes more tactile and a tad warm in the middle and on the finish, but boasts lovely precision to the orchard fruit and spicy flavors. Closes long and rich. Just like the 2014 Brand Gewürz from Boxler, this is less showy and in-your-face than Boxler’s Gewürz Reserve of the same year, but is always the deeper and more refined wine. This 2015 is a beautiful wine that is head and shoulders above the 2014. These vines are all in the Kirchthal right next to Boxler’s Pinot Gris vines, on very rich soils that are not likely to suffer water stress.Vinous Media | 94+ VM

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cheval Blanc is still incredibly primary at this very youthful stage. With coaxing, it unfurls to reveal beguiling notions of ripe black cherries, mulberries, licorice, baking spices and smoked meats with touches of incense and potpourri plus wafts of cast iron pan and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, very rich, very firm/taut and with very ripe, fine-grained tannins, it allows a glimpse at its incredible depth of flavors with a very long multi-layered finish. Wow.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPMade with 45% Cabernet Franc, this great wine offers a beautiful, rich and perfumed character. It was an exceptional vintage for the estate, which incorporated fruit from parcels of the vineyard that would normally be used for the chateau’s second wine into this blend. It is packed with black-fruit flavors and broad tannins, with a background of juicy acidity and a firm structure. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEPhenomenal aromas of cherries, flowers, blackberries and sandalwood. Pure fruit. Full-bodied, dense and polished with incredible tannin quality like the finest, densest silk ball. In perfect proportions. Compact. Seamless and endless. Gorgeous to taste now but give it six or seven years to understand it better.James Suckling | 99 JSA lovely sanguine hint leads off, followed by racy, elegant juniper, tobacco, red currant and damson plum notes that move in unison. Broadens and deepens, adding notes of currant preserves, warm ganache and smoldering tobacco, with a swath of loamy structure. Yet even as the bass line increases in volume through the finish, this maintains purity and poise. Should deliver some stunning aromatics at peak, which will take awhile to achieve. Best from 2025 through 2045. 8,250 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSI continue to absolutely love the 2015 Chateau Cheval Blanc. It’s one of those powerful, sexy, yet also weightless and elegant wines that’s going to drink well all its life. Checking in as a blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc brought up in new barrels, it offers a kaleidoscope of aromas and flavors led by beautiful sweet fruits as well as incredible floral, spice, and graphite nuances. It’s full-bodied, with a rich, rounded, opulent texture, sweet tannins, and a blockbuster finish. As with a lot of 2015s, it has the sweetness of fruit and ripe tannin that allows it to drink well today, but it’s going to be very long-lived and have 3-4 decades of prime drinking.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDLovely perfumed fruit on the palate, this has well integrated tannins that have a soft gentle mouth coating texture, with excellent juicy appeal straight away. Really quite herbal here, lots of mint and eucalyptus with tons of liquorice and some mint chocolate. Like the 2016, everything is so well balanced, just giving you hints of different elements. Here it is the cool blue fruit, liquorice and mint. So well executed, defined, precise and svelte. It is mouthfulling too though, you know this is a big wine with plenty of power and structure but so supple and agile. Excellent precision. Still super young and a bit shy, it’s not giving away all its secrets right now but you’d never guess this was from a warm, ripe vintage such is the freshness. Such class on show. (Drink between 2027-2050)Decanter | 97 DECTotally seamless in the glass, with no beginning and no end, the 2015 Cheval Blanc is simply extraordinary. It’s hard to describe the 2015, because all of its elements are so perfectly in place. Beautifully delineated aromatics make a strong opening statement. Vibrant and wonderfully nuanced on the palate, the wine exudes energy and vitality through to the persistent, silky finish. Many other 2015s speak with more assertiveness and volume, but Cheval Blanc is more understsated. In 2015, Cheval Blanc created quite a stir in announcing that a whopping 91% of their crop would be bottled as Grand Vin. There will be no Petit Cheval, while the rest of the wine was sold internally. Antonio Galloni | 96+ VM

One of the stars of the vintage, the 2015 Domaine de Chevalier has turned out even better than I expected. Bright floral notes give striking aromatic lift to the rich, sumptuous fruit. A marvelously complete wine, the 2015 is racy and silky on the palate, yet also has tremendous freshness. Bright red cherry, blood orange, white pepper, spice and dried flowers build into the super-expressive finish. The 2015 has been nothing less than stunning the three times I have tasted it so far. This is a tremendous showing from proprietor Olivier Bernard and his team. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Tasted three times.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGI was able to taste the 2015 Domaine de Chevalier twice and it showed sensationally both times. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot that was harvested between October 1st and October 15th, this deep ruby/purple-colored effort has soaring aromatics of caramelized black cherries, cassis, lead pencil shavings, and forest floor. Deep, full-bodied, intense and beautifully pure, with fine tannin and moderate acidity, it’s a gorgeous Pessac-Leognan that needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will evolve for three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDSuave, spicy oak and warm, stony aromas, making immediate interest and giving way to vivid and fresh dark cherries, blackberries and cassis. The palate adds graphite-like, savory cherry-stone flavors amid smooth, velvety tannins. Tangy blackberries through the finish. Impressive. Try from 2020.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2015 Domaine de Chevalier is composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. It went through malolactic and aging on its lees during three months in 35% new, 35% one-year-old and 30% two-year-old barrels, with a total aging of 18 months. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it has lovely spiciness on the nose—Chinese five spice and black pepper—with a core of red and black cherries and smoked meats. Medium-bodied, finely crafted and refreshing, it’s quite minerally in the mouth and persistent on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPSexy burnish of charcoal-grilled rich black cherry fruit with firmly held tannins. A lovely wine – fairly high powered compared to some; this is one to cellar for a while. Drinking Window 2025 - 2038.Decanter | 95 DECThis wine is ripe, rich and generous. It brings out the almost-sweet character of the fruit in this vintage. At the same time, the tannins are firm and support all this fruitiness. The wine will develop well. Drink from 2024.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThis has a solid core of gently steeped plum and blackberry fruit inlaid liberally with warm ganache and roasted vanilla notes. Warm, dark earth details pervade the finish, along with hints of tobacco and espresso, though this remains suave and perfumy overall. Best from 2021 through 2031. 9,167 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Very complex nose with a wide spectrum of candied citrus, dried peach and mirabelle tart aromas. Bold and rich, particularly on the mid-palate, but with a great deal of subtlety and delicacy for the vintage. This is already delicious, but at the finish you really taste how this has been made for the long term. Great drive and persistence right at the end. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2015 Brut Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill shows off the savory side of the vintage to great effect. Hints of dried pear, sage, mint, dried flowers, lemon oil and chamomile open gradually in this mid-weight, lithe edition of Pol Roger’s tête de cuvée. The 2015 unfolds nicely with time in the glass, but I wouldn’t think of opening a bottle anytime soon. Readers will find a nervy Winston Churchill marked by notable freshness and vigor more than size. This is a fine effort in a vintage that has proven to be far trickier than most observers originally envisioned. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged September 2022.Vinous Media | 95 VMA tightly meshed Champagne, with an up-front, broad feel that’s quickly reined in and well-defined by racy acidity. Creamy on the palate, with the fine mousse carrying flavors of crème de cassis, lemon-infused pastry cream, smoked almond and oyster shell. Long, harmonious finish. Drink now through 2038. 500 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSA strong effort in a less-acclaimed vintage, Pol Roger’s newly released 2015 Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill opens in the glass with aromas of confit citrus, ripe orchard fruits and dried white flowers mingled with hints of honeycomb, freshly baked bread and anise. Medium to full-bodied, vinous and concentrated, with bright acids, chalky structuring extract and a pinpoint mousse, this inherently rather rich, gastronomic Champagne is quite tightly wound out of the gates and will reward a bit of bottle age. Stylistically, it is somewhat reminiscent of a modern-day version of the 1985.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RP